I love juice. The problem is, many of them are not great for your teeth considering the high sugar content (according to a couple dentists I’ve talked to), but I don’t really care. I mean, we’re all going to die anyway. At the very least, I always stick to the 100% juice, which generally avoids added sugars, and at least has a few natural vitamins.
Speaking of avoidance, one label I tend to avoid is the “organic” label, which generally just translates to “same flavor but for (at least) a $1 upcharge.” No thanks. But that changed when I saw the glowing orange color of Simply Nature’s Organic Gold Fusion 100% Juice Blend staring at me from the shelf of an Aldi store. There was just something so…enticing about it that I had to go in for a closer look. And it revealed everything I needed to know: it consists solely of organic apple juice, orange juice, and carrot juice. That’s it. Hmmm…as weird as carrot juice sounds, it seems to be featured in many cold-pressed juice drinks, and seems to blend in pretty well. It’s not a sweet juice, but it’s sweeter than other veggies; its listing at the end of the ingredients list also insinuates that there’s less carrot juice than any of the other juices. I wasn’t going to let that little bit of weirdness deter me from grabbing it, and so grab it, I did.
Going into a tasting, I’m fairly certain I’m going to like this, and the smell does nothing to dissuade me from that opinion, with a rather sweet scent that reminds me of a tropical juice. Even though carrot juice is featured on the packaging, it doesn’t play much of a role in the aromatic stage, with maybe the slight hint of the vegetable peeking out, but also corroborating my theory that it’s going to play a secondary role. As it probably should.
Oooooh yes, this is good. Very, very good. It’s pretty much exactly what I look for in a juice, and that is to say that it’s sweet, with some punchy flavors attacking your tastebuds. Even though the apple gets top billing, I’d have to say I notice the orange a bit more. You can also slightly taste the carrot, if you pay attention, but considering the overall taste is still sweet, it doesn’t do anything to detract from that. It’s really just a perfect “new age” balance between fruit and veggie juices, done with a focus on taste; like a throwback to when products tried to taste good, instead of just being “edgy”.
Since it’s kind of expensive (more on that later), I’d say it’s the type of drink I like to sip and savor, although it’s delicious enough that you could guzzle it if you were thirsty. It would also probably make a pretty solid mixer for those who are into alcoholic beverages, of which I have not had in a couple years (for reasons unknown…I used to drink them on a semi-regular basis, and then suddenly just lost all interest in them whatsoever).
True to organic form, these retail for $3.89 for a rather skimpy 33.8 oz. bottle, which is also its biggest drawback. This alone will relegate it to an occasional buy from me, but at least it’s in glass, which certainly seems a more fitting, premium packaging for an organic drink (paying the same price for cardboard cartons or plastic containers just feels kind of…anti-climactic). I don’t know how glass makes everything seem better – especially when it’s so fragile one drop will leave a large mess on your floor – but somehow it helps to justify the price a little bit more than the “organic” labeling for me. I mean, let’s be real here, does organic juice really taste any different than “regular” juice? Maybe in some cases, but this isn’t one of them: this just tastes like a deliciously sweet, straight up “regular” juice, but at a premium. It’s not that big of a knock considering it still tastes so damn good, but I’d at least like to see an “alternate” non-organic version, in a plastic bottle instead of glass, so I can just pay $1.99 for it and buy it much more frequently.
Overall: 8.5/10. The “organic” labeling is the biggest drawback, as a 33.8 oz. glass bottle retails for $3.89…that’s more than I pay for a typical 64 oz. bottle of juice. However, almost any complaints I have fall by the wayside every time I take a swig of this refreshing drink, which is a combination of (organic) apples, (organic) oranges and (organic) carrots. You would think the carrot juice would detract from the sweetness, but it’s perfectly balanced, resulting in a rather strong combination that really hits the tastebuds. It’s rather expensive, but dare I say, almost worth every penny; as it stands, it’s just a semi-frequent buy from me (i.e. once every month or two). But damn is it delicious.
